All India Council for Technical Education, AICTE, has decided to close down those technical colleges which recorded less than 30 per cent admissions in the last five years.

Speaking at the world education summit, Chairman of AICTE Anil D Sahasrabuddhe said that such colleges will be closed down from next year. According to ACTED data, there are around ten thousand three hundred fifty engineering institutions in the country that are approved by the AICTE with a total intake capacity of over 37 lakh students. Out of this, 27 lakh seats are lying vacant.

Mr Sahasrabuddhe said that council has been actively working on reducing the quantity of engineering institutions across the country due to poor demand and falling quality of education. He said, the AICTE has also reduced the penalty for closing down the institution that was a deterrent for many colleges which were willing to shut amid poor demand.